One wonders what Robert Burns would have thought of vegetarian haggis – If he were around today I’m not sure he would pen another 8 verses of the ‘Address to a Haggis, but he would have surely delivered some worthy light hearted ditty in honour of this much in demand 21st century dish. It’s become so popular that well know Scottish haggis producer – MacSween’s say it accounts for one in four of all haggis sales.

Nourished by Nature

I invited my friend Janice Clyne, to come up with a vegan recipe for Burn’s night and she created this delicious feast that both vegans and non vegans will not only hearty and satifying but packed full of flavour. Janice is a Glasgow based Food Scientist, health educator, plant based blogger and an outstanding advocate for real food. Her blog, Nourished by Nature is well worth a look and is full of healthy vegan recipes. Janice used vegetarian haggis from Simon Howie for her recipe.

Vegan Haggis Roulade

This is a fantastic vegan dish to celebrate Burns Night! Wrapping the haggis filling in puff pastry makes for a rather delicious and impressive main course! The filling has plenty of texture and flavour with the addition of pine nuts, mushrooms, spinach, herbs and balsamic vinegar.

Pre- scoring the pastry makes this a doddle to cut and serve and all the prep can be done in advance, leaving you free to enjoy the evening with a wee dram or two!

This is fantastic served with potatoes and a big pile of steamed spring greens or the more traditional bashed neeps! We serve this with a delicious whisky cream sauce!

Method
1. First take your puff pastry out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature.
2. Cook the haggis. The easiest way is to unwrap it, cut it into slices and cook in the microwave for 5 minutes. Alternatively you can cook it in a pan of boiling water or in the oven following the instructions on the pack.
3. Wipe and chop the mushrooms into small pieces or slices, add them to a large pan with 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil with the herbs and cook for 5 to 10 minutes with a pinch of sea salt. Add a few handfuls of washed spinach and stir until it wilts down. Drain off any liquid then add a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar. Add the pine nuts, mix well, taste and adjust the seasoning. Mix with the cooked haggis and leave to cool.
4. Unroll the puff pastry onto a non stick baking tray. I always buy the kind which is already rolled into a sheet. Jus Roll do a good one, it comes in a green cardboard box. If you buy the small square one then you will have to roll it out into a rectangle shape about 14 by 10 inches. Keep the greaseproof paper the pastry is wrapped in underneath the pastry sheet, it makes it easier to fold.
5. With the long side facing you, layer your filling in the middle of the pastry sheet. Shape it with your hands into a long fat sausage shape.
6. Lightly brush all the edges with some soya milk.
7. Fold both the long edges of the pastry to cover the filling and press down firmly to seal the edges. Fold the edges in and pinch them together. You should now have a long sausage shaped pastry with a fold along the middle. Carefully flip the pastry roll over so that the join is on the bottom. It’s much easier to do this if you keep the greaseproof paper underneath. Just use the paper to carefully roll the pastry over, then remove the paper.
8. Cut slices into the top of the roulade and brush with soya milk. I cut mine into 10 slices but you could make it 12 if you have smaller appetites or more people to feed!
9. Bake in a hot oven at 220 or 200 or a fan oven for around 30 to 35 minutes until nicely browned and crisp!
10. Slice and serve with potatoes and greens and whisky cream sauce!

VEGAN WHISKY CREAM SAUCE

This is a delicious dairy free sauce, it’s a fairly thin pouring sauce which is perfect served in a gravy boat at the table! Feel free to add more whisky! We made this with an Islay malt whisky which imparted a lovely peaty, smoky flavour!

Turkey leftovers are well loved in our house and with Christmas dinner over for another year, it’s time to make sure that all the meat is used up. Leftovers are one the things I love about Christmas food and there is something quite satisfying about stripping down the carcass and gathering any other little jewels that survived the festivities.

Turkey Biryani

One of my favourite ways to use up some of the turkey is to make a biryani. I’m not particularly keen on adding cooked meat to a curry but but I do like adding it to rice dishes. And, of course, don’t forget to boil up the carcass to make some comforting turkey broth.

I’ve listed the spices needed for the recipe but you could easily adapt by using curry powder or curry paste. Just go with what you’ve got available rather than buying extra.

I Like to serve this with some spicy chutney and a raita.

Turkey Biryani

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This turkey biryani is perfect for using up leftover turkey from the Christmas dinner or any chicken from the Sunday roast. It also works well with other cooked meats such as lamb or beef.

Food Waste

Food waste is such a huge problem all year round and during the festive period 50,375 tonnes of food and drink is expected to be binned in Scotland alone. We’re all being enouraged to shop smart and save money simply by avoiding food waste.

Food Waste

Food waste will be huge problem this Christmas and now is the time to start thinking ahead and have some ideas for using up the Christmas leftovers.
Collectively, people living in Scotland could save more than £90 million¹ by not wasting food this festive season. That’s a saving of £38 for every household in Scotland.
With 50,375² tonnes of food and drink expected to be binned in December, Scots are being encouraged to shop smart and save money simply by avoiding food waste.
According to figures from Zero Waste Scotland the equivalent of over 700,000 wheelie bins full of food is expected to be thrown away this month.
In December alone Scots are expected to throw away over 3.5 million mince pies, more than 240,000 Christmas puddings, and the equivalent of over 100,000 turkeys³. Using these items up – or not over-buying them in the first place – represents a potential saving of over £3 million.
Action to tackle household food waste has already seen the amount generated drop by 6% (between 2009 and 2014), resulting in a saving to household budgets of £92 million.
Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, said: “At Christmas it can be tempting to buy – and therefore waste – more food. But with a little preparation people can save money and be kinder to the environment. In Scotland we are working towards a 33% reduction in food waste by 2025. That’s the most ambitious target in Europe, and everyone in Scotland has an important part to play in helping the country achieve that goal.”
Ylva Haglund, Food Waste Campaigns Manager at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “With all the food most of us buy in the run up to Christmas, this can be a difficult time of year to avoid throwing food out. But taking a little bit of time to check your fridge and cupboards and make use of what you already have can save you a lot of money.
“The average household could save £460 a year by putting food to better use – simply by thinking ahead when shopping for meals, freezing extra portions and following recipes to use up any ingredients instead of just buying more.
For inspiration on cutting down food and drink waste this Christmas and saving money, see the top tips below:

Leftover Tips

· Keep your festive leftovers aside to make some quick and easy recipes – great for a head start on Boxing Day dinner.
· To use up any uneaten Christmas meal staples, curries, stews and soups are tasty and hassle-free to make. And who doesn’t love a classic turkey sandwich with leftover cranberry sauce? Easy recipes using leftovers can be found on the Zero Waste Scotland website
· To use up your Christmas pudding, create a really easy and delicious dessert of Christmas pudding ice cream. Just mix custard and whipped cream together then stir in the crumbled Christmas pudding, perhaps adding a little leftover rum, whisky or Baileys, and then freeze.
· Believe it or not, mince pies work really well as a base for another cake. Add in chocolate, orange or nuts, or use in trifle.
Freezing and storing
· Freezing the food you have left from your Christmas feast could save you cash. Freeze as soon as you can – within two days – and eat within three months if possible.
· You can freeze just about anything. Cream (whip it a little beforehand) and cheeses like Stilton freeze really well, just put them in an airtight bag or container and store in the freezer.
· If you have leftover salad or lettuce leaves put a piece of kitchen roll in the bottom of a pot, add the leaves and then seal. This will keep them fresh for much longer than leaving them in the bag.
New Year’s resolutions – how to cut down on food waste next year
· Only attempt a big food shop if you’ve prepared a shopping list to avoid buying food you won’t use.
· Remember to check your cupboards first before you go shopping, as you may already have a lot of the ingredients you need.
· By washing, chopping, bagging and freezing your veg in advance you can save a lot of time, and they will retain the same nutritional value as if you prepared them from fresh.
Anyone wishing to find out more about food waste, including easy and tasty recipes, should visit the Love Food Hate Waste website at Zero Waste Scotland is also encouraging Scots to share their own festive recipes on Twitter and Facebook.

St Andrew’s day is a wonderful day to celebrate our Scottish culture and central to many of Scotland’s and indeed worldwide celebrations will be the food.

St Andrew’s Day Food

Unlike Burns night where haggis is the star of the show; St Andrew’s day isn’t associated with any particular food, but, there’s no shortage of fresh seasonal produce to chose from. Alongside many of Scotland’s traditional offerings like Scotch beef and lamb, there’s a magnificent selection of fresh seasonal produce to chose from. Game is plentiful and I recently heard legendary chef, Albert Roux encourage young chefs to make more use of this including Scotland’s mountain hare.

With St Andrew being a fisherman it seems appropriate to celebrate the day with seafood and one of the nations finest foods – Scotland’s king of fish – Scottish salmon.

But, if like me, your day is busy, then a healthy meal that can be on the table in a very short time is ideal. This simple smoked salmon bake is packed full of flavour and some of the prep can be done in advance. The recipe will also work well with salmon fillets or hot smoked salmon.

Smoked Salmon Bake

Perfect after a busy day.

Smoked salmon bake

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This all in one salmon bake is quick and easy and a great way of getting the family to eat more fish and vegetables.

Pumpkin is one of vegetables that signals a change of season in the kitchen. As the clocks move and we leave the lighter nights behind, the light and fresh dishes we’ve become accustomed to over the summer months are replaced with more hearty and robust meals.

It also means an abundance of home grown seasonal vegetables – along with the appearance of colourful beetroots, swiss chard, and kale and parsnips, pumpkins bring some much needed brightness to darker days.

Pumpkin is one of my regulars in these hearty and satisfying meals as it’s so versatile and nourishing and I love to roast it with other ingredients or use it in soups and casseroles.

Great selection of pumpkin available

There’s such a great selection available at this time time of year and they all have great flavour. Don’t be put off by the tough skin, pumpkin can be roasted with the skin on and then it’s easily removed once cooked.

This sausage and pumpkin recipe is one of my favourite autumn comfort food meals and is great for limiting the amount of washing up as it’s all cooked in one pan. I used Red Kuri pumpkin for this recipe but any squash or pumpkin will work and it’s also a good way to use up any leftover Halloween pumpkin.

A great one pan supper

Made with a few key ingredients

Sausage and Pumpkin with Orzo

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This one pan dish is a real winner and lets face who doesn't like sausages. In this recipe I used spicy Italian sausages but any pork sausage will be perfect. If using pork sausages a good pinch of chilli flakes will add a welcome kick to the dish.

This one pan dish is a real winner and lets face who doesn't like sausages. In this recipe I used spicy Italian sausages but any pork sausage will be perfect. If using pork sausages a good pinch of chilli flakes will add a welcome kick to the dish.

Add the pumpkin and the red pepper to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes.

Return the sausages to the pan, add the cider and the stock, season well and add the sprig of sage to the pan.

Transfer the roasting ton to the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Add the orzo, stir to mix well, adding more stock if required. Retrn to the oven and continue cooking for approximately 10 minutes until the orzo is cooked.
Add the chopped parsely and sage

Add the chopped parsley and sage.
To save on washing up, serve the dish up at the table in the dish it was cooked in.

Halloween is next week and for many the appearance of the bright orange pumpkin in the shops usually means it’s time to get carving the lantern.

Halloween Food

However, the pumpkin is a great fruit, yes it is a fruit, not a vegetable and an extremely versatile one at that. For me it signals that not only is Halloween around the corner but that Autumn has arrived and it’s time for a change of flavours in the kitchen. Different seasons bring new colours, new aromas, and the pumpkin denotes warm, spicy earthy tones that add comfort to food as we move away from salads and the lightness and freshness of summer food. One thing to bear in mind is that the large pumpkins are usually grown with Halloween in mind and can be a bit bland. Flavour can be added with herbs and spices and rather than waste the flesh and seeds from a carved pumpkin, it can be cooked up into some delicous treats.

Pumpkin works well in casseroles and curries, as a soup, in risotto and as a stuffing for certain pasta, a roasted veg and even in a cake or a dessert. When I mentioned that I was making a selection of cakes and desserts with my pumpkin haul, there were a few raised eyebrows in the house, not surprising as my boys would never eat it as a savoury dish, preferring to carve it in to a lantern to go trick or treating or to adorn the doorstep on Halloween. However, like other fruit or vegetable cakes it makes a lovely addition as it lends a nice subtle sweetness and moistness to a sponge cake and it’s also a nice change for a cheesecake or pie. Warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger and chilli compliment the flavour of pumpkin as do sweet flavours such as orange and surprisingly for some chocolate. These recipes make a nice change from the soups and savoury dishes and where possible I have reduced the calorie content by using oil or ‘lighter’ ingredients.

Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Ginger Sauce

Ingredients

225g digestive biscuits

60g butter

Juice and zest of 1 orange

340g cooked pumpkin. Either roast or steam

25g fresh ginger grated

225g golden caster sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

4 eggs

Sauce

175g Plain chocolate

50g butter

1 tbsp ginger wine or a tbsp of the syrup from the preserved ginger.

2 pieces of preserved ginger (from a jar) chopped

Place the chocolate, butter and milk in a heatproof bowl and place over a pan of simmering water, stir until melted and creamy. Stir in the ginger and set aside until needed.

Cheesecake

Heat the oven to 170oc /. Fan Gas 3

Grease and line a 10 in/25cm loose bottomed cake tin.

Crush the digestive biscuits into fine crumbs.

Melt the butter over a low heat, stir in the biscuit crumbs along with the orange zest Press the biscuit crumb mix into the base of the tin and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, pumpkin, grated ginger, sugar, and cinnamon until the mixture is smooth. A food mixer will make this much easier.

Beat the eggs and fold into the pumpkin mixture. Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for approximately 90 mins until set and a skewer comes out clean. Once cool,turn onto a serving plate, cover and chill overnight. To serve, dust lightly with icing sugar and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Take one sheet of pastry and brush with melted butter or oil, fold one third, brush again and fold I the final third to make one long strip of pastry.

Place a spoonful of the filling at one corner end of the Filo and fold diagonally to make a triangle. Continue folding until you reach the end of the pastry strip and have formed a triangle parcel. Brush with melted butter or oil, place on a baking sheet and bake, 200C/ 180c fan Gas 6 for 20 – 30 mins until crisp and golden.

This is a recipe I have adapted from my Mother in laws chocolate cake and the various carrot cakes I have made over the years. It’s made with fresh pumpkin and rapeseed oil as I find using oil makes for a more moist cake and much lower in saturated fat than butter.

The frosting is made with light cream cheese, icing sugar and grated orange rind, although a lighter option is an orange drizzle icing.

Put the dry ingredients, flour,sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt in to a large mixing bowl.

Beat the eggs, add the oil and yoghurt and orange zest and mix well. Fold in to the dry ingredients and then stir in the grated pumpkin ensuring that it is mixed well.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 35 – 40 mins or until springy to touch.

Frosting

Beat the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the orange zest / juice until you achieve the desired flavour.

I find too much zest and juice makes the finished flavour to orangey and can be overpowering for the flavour of the cake. Using a palette knife to spread and swirl the frosting over the cake. Decorate as required.

Notes. Once frosted the cake keep well for a few days in the fridge. Lower the calorie count by using an orange drizzle icing.

Orange Drizzle Icing

Juice of 1 orange and zest of 1/2. 100g granulated sugar Mix ingredients together and drizzle over cake.

Summer Food

Summer food should sing of vibrant colours and the freshest of flavours. British produce is at it’s best and seasonal vegetables like asparagus, beetroot, tomatoes, courgettes, runner beans and asparagus offer a delicious change from winter and early spring offerings. The sweetest of strawberries have made an appearance, gooseberries, cherries and in my own garden there’s an enormous harvest of rhubarb to be cooked up. Although herbs are available in the supermarkets all year round, my own home grown herbs are lush and plentiful.

As the weather gets warmer I’m drawn to lighter food, usually with ingredients that can be brought together with the minimum of fuss but still deliver great flavours. Sunshine food at it’s best and hopefully to be enjoyed with some al fresco dining.

A whole chicken or fish, a tray of lamb chops or large steaks for slicing and sharing make for an easy meal and if marinated in advance with summer herbs will add lots of extra punchy summery flavours.

Chicken

Over the summer months I usually cook a marinated chicken at least once a week and make the most of summer vegetable and salads by varying the flavours and sides each time.

This chicken with stuffed tomatoes is full of flavour and is delicious served with bread and a green salad.

Start the day before by marinating the chicken in some really flavorsome herbs.

Summer Herb Chicken with Stuffed Tomatoes

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A delicious roast chicken served with stuffed tomatoes brings all the flavours of summer to the table. The chicken and the tomatoes both cook at the same oven temperature. Pop the chicken in the oven to start and add the tomatoes about 15 - 30 minutes before the chicken is cooked. This will allow time for the chicken to rest before serving. Serve with some crusty bread and a green salad.

Servings

4People

Servings

4People

Summer Herb Chicken with Stuffed Tomatoes

Print Recipe

A delicious roast chicken served with stuffed tomatoes brings all the flavours of summer to the table. The chicken and the tomatoes both cook at the same oven temperature. Pop the chicken in the oven to start and add the tomatoes about 15 - 30 minutes before the chicken is cooked. This will allow time for the chicken to rest before serving. Serve with some crusty bread and a green salad.

Begin the day before. Mix the marinade ingredients together. Place the chicken in a suitable container or a plastic bag. Pour over the marinade ingredients and rub over the chicken to ensure it is well coated.

Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Cooking Instructions.
Pre heat an oven 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Cook at 25 minutes per 500g plus an extra 25 minutes.
When ready to cook, place the chicken on a roasting tin. Season with salt and roast as per the instructions.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Slice the top off the tomatoes and set aside.
Scoop out the seeds along with the pulp and chop.
Sprinkle the inside of the tomatoes with sea salt and a pinch of sugar.
Place in an oven proof dish and set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium sized pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute,
Add the pulp and seeds from the tomatoes and continue cooking until the liquid has reduced.
Add the rice, stock and season with salt. Part cook for approximately 10 minutes and add the herbs.

Spoon the rice mixture into the tomatoes, sprinkle over the Feta and place the lids on top. Try not to overfill the tomatoes as the rice will continue to expand during cooking.
Bake for 30 minutes or until tender and the rice is fully cooked.

Haggis with leeks, scallops, neeps and tattie chips with a whisky and ginger wine sauce.

Haggis and Burns Night – a celebration of the life of Robert Burns and there must be few foods that bring people together to celebrate, share food and enjoy an entertaining night like haggis does. Thanks to the Bard penning ‘To a Haggis’ over the years it has become a much loved dish at home and abroad.

One wonders what Burns himself would make of the worldwide celebrations and the iconic status that haggis enjoys as Scotland’s national dish. Of course when Rabbie ate his haggis back in 1786 it would not have been served in the style it enjoys today.

Haggis and Burns Suppers

Haggis is synonymous with Burns suppers but as a food, how we eat haggis has undergone some change in recent years. No longer just served in traditional way with neeps and tatties on the side, haggis is up there as the star attraction in many recipes. Indeed, so much so that it has it’s own bible written by Scotland’s own queen of haggis, Jo Macsween, a second generation Edinburgh haggis producer.

There are endless possibilities to use it as an ingredient and perusing through some popular recipes it is obviously an alternative to another Scottish favourite – mince.

When I was asked by About Scotland and Scotmid to come up with a recipe using haggis, I wanted it to be a twist on the usual haggis meal but still using the traditional ingredients. This recipe uses neeps and tatties but also includes some other Scottish favourites, scallops and whisky.

Tatties and swede chips. Par boil the potatoes and swede for 5 mins, drain and dry. Transfer to an oven tray, add 1-2 tbsp of oil and mix to ensure the chips are well coated. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and cook for 20 minutes or until chips are crisp and slightly golden.

Leek. Heat the butter in a medium size pan, add the leek and cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Keep the pan for making the sauce.

Haggis. Cook the haggis according to the instructions on the pack.

Scallops – I coated the scallops in oil and cooked on a griddle pan, over a medium to high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. If using a frying pan, heat 1-2 tbsp oil and cook the scallops for the same time.

Sauce -Add the whisky to the pan and set alight. Add the ginger wine and crushed peppercorns. Reheat, stir in the cream and heat gently for 1 minute.

Serve

Top the slices of haggis with a spoonful of leeks and place a scallop on top. drizzle over the whisky and ginger wine sauce and serve with the tatties and neeps chips on the side.

Find out more about Scottish food and drink and the history of Robert Burns at www.scotland.org

Haggis – Great Chieftain o’ the puddin’- race

Haggis, is there any other food that enjoys such grand celebrations and tributes. Or the stark contrasts of being a favourite snack, breakfast or even deep fried at the local chippie. This weekend Scots all over the world will unite to celebrate Burns night and the haggis will be central to the festivities

Award winning Scottish haggis makers, Macsweens have been using family recipes that have remained unchanged for 60 years. Over time new innovative products have been developed and the range has expanded to include vegetarian, venison, and a wild boar haggis. It’s still very much a family business with son James and daughter Jo Macsween continuing to bring haggis to a new generation of haggis lovers.

When it comes to cooking I’ve always been a bit of a purist, preferring the traditional dish of haggis, neeps and tatties. But haggis has enjoyed an explosion of popularity, new recipes have evolved and the humble haggis is now cooked in a wide variety of dishes. It’s ideal in a variety of cuisines, Mexican nacho’s, Spanish tapa’s, Indian pakora and Italian lasagne. It even has it’s own bible, the Macsween Haggis Bible, a collection of over 40 recipes by Jo Macsween. Looking through some of the recipes it seems like haggis could be the new mince.

We started our Burns celebrations with a selection from Macsweens; an original everyday haggis, venison haggis and for extra flavour, the whisky cream sauce.

I served both the traditional way rather than cook with other flavours. The venison haggis, infused with port, juniper, redcurrant and spices was my favourite and very different from traditional varieties I’ve tasted. Definitely a winner and all the family gave it top marks. Something different, delicious and worth trying.

The original everyday haggis was moist and delicious, perfectly spiced with a nice texture. The rich and creamy whisky sauce was an ideal accompaniment and added a nice finish to both haggis.

I would use the original everyday haggis in other recipes and it would work well in recipes such a nacho’s, pakora, or as a topping for baked potato. An inspiring collection of recipes can be found on Macsweens website

Disclaimer. Thanks to Macsweens for providing the haggis for this post.